The Worries of the New Crown-Princess

At first, nobody knew what to say.

We all awkwardly stared at each other, with none of us knowing what to do.

It had been a long and tiring day.

Then, after about an hour of pure emptiness, my father, the new king of Willowsby, finally broke the silence.

"As all of you may know, with the death of my parents, the late King Walter III and Queen Consort Irinia, I am now the king of Willowsby."

My four year old brother, Prince Nolan, shyly raised his hand.

"So, when's your coronation?" he mumbled.

Silence once again filled the room as my father quickly did the math in his brain.

"The coronation shall take place on Saturday, August 23rd."

While Nolan and my other siblings cheered happily at the news, a stone full of worry suddenly appeared in my head. It was too heavy to be moved.

With the coronation of my parents as the new Monarchs of Willowsby, I would officially be elevated to the rank of Crown-Princess. In other words, I'd officially be next in line to the throne.

I started to softly sob into my hands.

"Are you alright, Leonie?"

I stayed silent, refusing to utter a single word.

"Leonie?"

"Y-Yes?" I weeped.

"Do you want to talk in private?" my father gently asked me.

I nodded yes as we walked into another nearby room.

"So, Leonie, what's making you so sad?"

"Well, now that you and Mom are now the Monarchs of Willowsby, I'm worried about how this will affect me. Along with all of my school stuff, now I ALSO have to balance increased royal duties due to me now being next in line to the throne. It feels like I'm being crushed by the weight of my new expectations," I cried as tears came out of my eyes.

"There, there, Leonie. I know how you feel...."

I immediately jolted up in shock.

"That's easy for YOU to say. You were only FIVE years old when your parents became the Monarchs of Willowsby. I am 15 years old. Our situations are VASTLY different from one another," I angrily sneered.

"I know that. Still, it IS difficult to adjust to having a whole new load of responsibilities suddenly being thrusted upon you without consent."

I quietly thanked my father for the conversation as I stoop up and walked away.

That night, I couldn't sleep at all. I silently laid awake in a deep pool of my own worries. They tightly grabbed onto me as if I was a newly-caught fish. Every time I tried to sleep for even a second, the fishing rod of panic reeled me in tighter and tighter.

Eventually, after several long hours of sleepless torture, I finally swam out of that pool and fell asleep.

After several long months of preparation, August 23rd had arrived.

I barely ate my breakfast because I worried about me possibly making a fool out of myself during the coronation ceremony.

As soon as I finished eating, I sped back to my room and began getting dressed for the coronation.

Yet, not even my gorgeous light blue dress and stunning silver jewelry were enough to cheer me up.

Later, I applied a heavy coating of waterproof mascara in case of a sudden and heavy onslaught of tears.

The loud giggling of Nolan, along with that of my nine year old twin siblings (Princess Amalia and Prince Sebastian,) angered me to no end.

"Ooh! Can't they just shut up or something?! Shouldn't they know that I am about to officially become the CROWN-PRINCESS OF WILLIOWSBY, AKA THE NEW HEIRESS APPARENT?!" I angrily thought as I applied some blush.

Suddenly, my mom walked inside my room. She looked gorgeous.

"Leonie, your father's told me that you've been feeling very nervous about your new role," she explained as she gently hugged me while making sure to not ruin my dress.

I silently nodded.

"Well, i just want to tell you that we believe that you will do an excellent job in your new role. We will promise to always help you and to make sure that you never feel like you're about to collapse under a pile of work," she gently reassured me. Her gentle hug felt like I was being wrapped in a pile of satin blankets.

"Thanks. I really needed that."

A few hours later, Nolan, Amalia, Sebastian, and I sat in the front row of the Throne Room as our parents were being crowned.

A sudden burst of "Long live King Laurence II and Queen Consort Celestia!" meant only one thing: it was now time for ME to be crowned as the Crown-Princess/Heiress Apparent.

GULP.

I slowly trudged my way to the thrones, carefully making sure that I wasn't going to suddenly fall and hurt myself like a total fool.

Somehow, I ended up reaching the thrones without humiliating myself.

I slowly knelt in front of my parents as a silver necklace containing the crest of Willowsby was brought out on a satin pillow.

It. Was. Time.

"As the Crown-Princess of Willowsby, do you swear to always be chivalrous, brave, open-minded, confident, courageous, and, when the time eventually comes, to be an excellent queen of Willowsby?" my father asked.

I nervously gazed around the room. Thankfully, nobody was making fun of me. Phew!

I carefully nodded yes.

"Well then, by the power invested in your mother and I, the Monarchs of Willowsby, we hereby name you, Eleanor Isabelle Maria Alexandra Swordston, as the new Crown-Princess of Willowsby," my father loudly declared as the silver necklace was gently fastened around my neck. "Please rise."

I smiled - everything went perfectly!

"Long live the future queen of Willowsby! May she always exude the values of the kingdom at all times!" everyone in the room (including my younger siblings) proudly chanted.

I suddenly started laughing. I hadn't embarrassed myself AND the coronation went well.

The loud cheers comforted me, reassuring me that I'd always be surrounded by a loving family AND kingdom no matter what happens.

THE END